Carla Trueheart

Reviewed By Rabia Tanveer for Readers’ Favorite

The Unifieds by Carla Trueheart is a young adult science fiction novel set in the future when there is a war just waiting to happen. Set in the year 2273, Eldree looks forward to becoming a Go-Between to advocate peace between the Unifieds and the Solitaries. As a Unified, she enjoys luxuries and the best in life, something the Solitaries cannot enjoy at all. Her first assignment as a Go-Between is to interact with the Go-Between for the Solitaries called Lan Holinger and bring an end (or some semblance of peace) to the conflict regarding a river that both communities share. However, she has no idea that chaos is about to ensue between both communities. As war surges around them, Lan and Eldree focus on peace and making it back home alive. Between the chaos, Eldree cannot help but fall for the strong, determined Lan. But this is not the time to fall in love. She needs to be careful about her journey back home and look out for her community and not herself. Can Lan and Eldree keep their personal lives out of their professional lives?

Packed with action and a brilliant plot, The Unifieds by Carla Trueheart is a perfect companion to keep you company deep into the night. I finished this in a single sitting and don’t regret a moment's reading. Eldree is a simple girl who lives a sheltered life, but she has big dreams. She is not expecting to find war this close to her, even though she is slightly expecting things to escalate. Lan, on the other hand, knows everything comes at a price, and peace is not something they can achieve so easily. They are very different, but they perfectly complement each other. Where Eldree is fire, Lan is the calm water that makes her gentle and helps her think rationally. I love how the story offers both characters enough page space to form a connection with readers. The descriptions are brilliant, the story itself is powerful, and the narrative is phenomenal!… (mais)

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

The Ritual of the Four is a young adult paranormal fantasy written by Carla Trueheart. Shaw Huntley is on the run -- literally. He and his mother have so far remained just a few steps ahead of the scarred man and Shaw’s cousin, Alexander; the men who killed Shaw’s father and who will stop at nothing to get Shaw’s dagger. Each time they catch up with Shaw, he and his mom are packed and ready to go, once again, to yet another town, a different school, and with a new set of names. Shaw, Alexander, and the scarred man have a peculiar set of skills that runs in Shaw’s family lineage; they can slash and cut their victims using the power of their minds. Shaw’s powers are unusually strong and hard for him to control; once he has visualized that dagger in his mind, the object of his anger is cut. When they move to Rockpoint, New York, a quiet little upstate New York town, Shaw is prepared for yet another short stay before they have to leave, but the welcoming committee at his new high school, in the form of a game-playing girl named Melody, gives him just a few reasons to want to somehow make this stay last a little longer.

Carla Trueheart’s young adult paranormal fantasy, The Ritual of the Four, is exciting and action-packed. The author has written a spellbinding and highly imaginative story based around an ancient ritual that had created binding powers passed down through the family lineages of its participants. Shaw and Melody are authentic and compelling characters who work together to decipher the clues and puzzles that are all that’s left to help them stop the relentless and deadly pursuit by Alexander and the scarred man. I enjoyed every minute I spent reading The Ritual of the Four and had a marvelous time teasing out the coded message and other clues along with the two protagonists. This is a fast-paced story that’s filled with adventure, suspense, and just a bit of romance. The Ritual of the Four is wickedly good, and it’s most highly recommended for contemporary fantasy fans of all ages.… (mais)